Shattered Kingdoms

Tips of umbrellas? Is that what you used?

Tell stories.

Lacquers (and even colored shellacs) have been used on metals (and other materials) for thousands of years. Chinese laquering goes back to 4000 BCE. Most were based off of lead oxide colors, ranging from white to yellow to orange to red (color deepens as it is heated). Some pigments were derived from beetles (coccus lacca, the "lac beetle") and some pigments made from plants (like "Mayan Blue", which goes back at least 2,000 years). They were applied to bone, ceramics, clay and metals by artisans.

Of course they were not impact resistant (blades would not stay long lacquered), but were used mainly on decorative surfaces and some armor pieces (in the context of the OP's post).

A wizard did it.

Hrm, color coding sounds like something that would be beneficial for me! For someone who enchants, when you buy like 20 rings or so, it gets confusing to know which one has which enchantments... but if you have color coding!!

This idea sounds okay..but it seems a bit pointless, and what about the EQ that has colors in like it's short desc or whatever it's called, like "<worn on body> a plate of spiked black armor"(just making that up).

True; I suppose my point doesn't invalidate the idea of sturdier material types being recolorable... it just points to the fact that the treatment ought to last longer on simpler and more organic material types.

I suppose maximum realism would dictate a system akin to "condition" where the item's pigmentation gradually breaks up to reveal the description's original color scheme, but that seems like it'd be a lot of code for something that doesn't really need to be all that complicated.

Yes. With magic.

truthfully it doesn't need to exist at all. if it can exist, it should cost a buttload of coin.

enamel

"Buttload of coin" indeed, then.